Simple pleasures

It's day 14 back in Canadialand. Yes, I'm still counting the days to remind myself of lessons learned.

I draw pleasure from simple mundane things these days, like Popeyes fried chicken for example.

In my two-and-half months' stint as a jhr intern in Ghana, I only ate meat once. (Well, I might have unknowingly ingested bits of meat on several occasions, but I only knowingly ate meat on one occasion and it was halal.) Consequently, I not only craved meat in general but I also longed for the greasy, MSG-laden crispiness of Popeyes fried chicken. So when Abah suggested we break our fast at the only Popeyes outlet in Brantford, my head automatically bobbed up and down in agreement.

Now, fast-food-chain fried chicken is hardly our typical Ramadan feast. But then again, I’ve been lucky enough to see happiness in people who have a lot less than I do (to say that they have nothing at all would be a gross exaggeration, if not a sign of ignorance). I’ve seen people carry heavier loads, walk farther distances and endure hotter suns in a day than I have had to endure in my entire life. I find it a little bit harder to complain about things now. Too bad I had to go on a $5000-internship half-way across the globe to learn this but I suppose every lesson has a price.

As I write this, I can’t help but see how inconsequential this seems. But then I remember feeling absolutely contented on the drive home from Popeyes; the most important people in my life are alive and well, I’m doing what I love most in life, my belly is full and I have a home to go back to. My happiness is the sum of little inconsequential parts and I’m thankful that I have the capacity to recognize them. I hope I stay this way.

The sun made a beautiful display of receding elegently behind the funeral home across from Popeyes as we were leaving. The day couldn't have had a better ending.

From Ghana with Love

It's day 3 here in Kumasi, day 2 at Luv FM and day 7 in Ghana.

I'm still adjusting to the heat but the move to Kumasi has certainly made things easier. The heat was constant and high in Accra. Here in hilly downtown Kumasi, the air is mostly cooler and drier.

My first day at Luv FM was full of excitement (at least, for me it was). I got to meet the lively staff at the station and two inspiring journalists who have done some amazing human rights stories.

The first is Ohemeng Tawiah, a small, soft spoken and somewhat shy guy. He showed me a video documentary he produced about a girl who was involved in a car accident and had had both her legs amputated while the driver of the car remained free. Thanks to his work, the driver has since be charged in court and the girl's family was awarded 6000GHc in compensation. Talk about power of the pen.

The second journalist is Kwabena. I was told by the station manager, Saeed, that I will be working with Kwabena as a start. Kwabena wasn't in the office at the time because he had gone to Agogo to investigate a story about Fulani herdsmen who have been ravaging local farmlands with their cattle. The Fulanis came from the Sahel region and are hired by influential Ghanaians to herd cattle. They graze their cattle on farms run by Ghanaian farmers, destroying acres of crops at a time. Locals can do little as these herdsmen are often armed with guns and AK47s. They also pollute water sources and have been known to harass and assault local women. Local authorities, in the meantime, have done very little to help.

Having heard all this, I imagined Kwabena to be a giant of a man. The person that walked in at the end of the day instantly reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell with glasses and darker skin. He did not look like someone who would be seeking out men with AK47s. But he is. He reported that he had to take a bus to Agogo, and then had someone transport him on a motorcycle to get to the farm that had been hijacked by a group of Fulani herdsmen. Whenever he needed to record sound, he and the driver would pretend that there was a problem with the motorcycle. The driver would pretend to fix it while Kwabena discretely held out his recorder.

He's planning to speak to the Chief District Officer of Agogo tomorrow. It will be an hour's drive out of Kumasi and he warns me that I might not be able to handle it. I can't wait to go.